


Catnip

by SeeThemFlying



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Brief JC, Brienne is a Gold Cloak, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Something More?, F/M, Fanfic Challenge, Jaime is rude, Not JC Friendly, Pod is a cat, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, What's new?, mention of canon typical violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22421806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeeThemFlying/pseuds/SeeThemFlying
Summary: Since moving into her new house in King's Landing, the light of Brienne's life has been a small black cat called Pod who arrived in her garden and then made himself at home.Unfortunately, to Brienne's annoyance, she then discovers Pod technically belongs to her Sexy Rude Neighbour Jaime Lannister, who she would rather punch in the face than ever call a friend.Can the pair of them make up for the sake of a small black cat?Written for the Jaime and Brienne Subreddit Challenge.
Relationships: Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister (minor), Jaime Lannister & Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 42
Kudos: 206
Collections: Jaime and Brienne Subreddit Fan Creation Challenges





	Catnip

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry I had a problem with the first time I posted this, so I tried again. I hope this one works.
> 
> I've been working on this for a little while now, so I hope you enjoy! These were the rules of the challenge:
> 
> Type: Fanfic
> 
> Rules/Timelines:  
> \- the cat needs to be taken care of: young kitten to bottle feed, old cat with a disability, wounded cat,...  
> \- the cat is a trigger that take their relationship to the next step  
> \- the cat can be male or female. She's only a cat, not a magical beast. But she's a real cat - the house is her kingdom from the moment she feels secure, she needs interactions at the most ill suited moment, and, if she's a kitten, domestic disaster can happen.  
> \- book!Jaime is the only Jaime
> 
> I may have strayed off that a little, but here is a Modern AU retelling of Jaime and Brienne's story, complete with a cat. I hope you enjoy.

Brienne did not realise Jaime was leaving until she saw the moving van pull up next door, driven by two burly men in uniform who began to take all his furniture away; his flat screen TV, a huge fern, a massive portrait of himself (he was very vain, after all). As she watched them, a lump in her throat, Brienne chided herself. She should have expected it. Jaime's nephew's death had been all over the papers, and she knew things with his sister were _difficult_ and...

Still, she wished he did not have to go.

She had first seen him when she had moved to King's Landing, switching the fresh sea air of Tarth for horrible polluted smog that the TV told her killed hundreds of asthmatics every year. Yet, even so, it had been the right choice. On Tarth, there was nothing to do but stroll through meadows, swim in the sea, and help her father make his little wooden _Welcome to Tarth_ memorabilia. Furthermore, one could not be a knight of the City Watch on Tarth. Only in King's Landing, dazzled by the bright lights, could Brienne fulfil her ambition that had inspired her ever since she watched _CSI King's Landing_ as a little girl.

That first night, after a busy day of unpacking everything, Brienne had just wanted to curl up in her posh bed in her new house and go to sleep. Instead, she had been forced to listen to some terrible house music coming from next door, which felt like a cheese grater on her tired ears. Eventually, it had got so bad that she had gone to confront her new neighbour. She thought it would be best to lay down some ground rules, especially if she was going to be in King's Landing long term.

Having rapped smartly on the door, Brienne was prepared to launch into a tirade when it opened. However, that plan was quickly aborted when she was faced with the world's most ridiculously handsome man wearing a slightly dazed expression. Although it pained her, Brienne had not been able to deny how beautiful Sexy Neighbour was - golden and green-eyed - even though the first thing he said to her was abominably rude.

"Are you a woman?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Used to men being vile to her, Brienne stiffed and straightened up, before fixing him with an imperious gaze. "Can you turn the volume down? I've just moved in next door and I am _trying to sleep._ I'm starting a new job tomorrow."

The man shrugged. "Not my problem."

"Oh, it _will_ be your problem," she hissed, "when I call the damn Gold Cloaks."

An amused smile crossed his face. "Go on then, call them! See if I care!"

"Fine! I will!" she growled in reply.

Being the upright sort of person she was, Brienne _had_ called them, but they never did anything about it and Sexy Rude Neighbour kept having wild parties late into the night, sometimes punctuated by screaming and smashing glass.

Still, Brienne wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

She did not learn his real name until sometime later, and that was only because Pod had come into her life. Pod was a scrawny looking cat who she found in her garden three days into living in King's Landing. When Brienne opened the back door, the poor little dear had started mewling at her as if he was starving, so she let him in and fed him a tin of tuna. After that, he turned up almost nightly begging for scraps, so Brienne eventually invested in some fairly decent cat food - gold standard - for Pod to eat. The little black cat evidently liked that idea, as he soon decided that Brienne's house was home, and would spend most evenings curled up on her sofa, purring when she stroked him.

Sexy Rude Neighbour evidently _disagreed,_ however.

"Woah," he said when she opened the door to find him standing on her doorstep, all arrogant sun god. "You're much uglier in daylight."

"What do you want?" snapped Brienne, barely able to keep her frustration out of her tone.

"You've been feeding my cat cheap cat food and he's got diarrhoea. You should pay my vet bill."

Suddenly realising Sexy Rude Neighbour must be the owner of Pod, Brienne folded her arms across her chest defensively. "Maybe you should actually look after your cat instead of coming and bitching to me! Pod spends most evenings around mine."

"Yeah," snorted Sexy Rude Neighbour, "and then comes and shits on _my_ floor!"

"Not my problem," Brienne had snapped in response, echoing his sentiment about her new job on the night of his raucous party, closing the door on his stupidly handsome face.

A few minutes later, the medical bill was shoved through her letterbox, and for the first time she saw Sexy Rude Neighbour's name.

_Jaime Lannister._

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

During the next few months, Brienne had thought she could ignore Jaime Lannister as much as possible, but every time she saw him, he just shouted at her about cheap cat food and medical bills. Even so, Brienne just blocked him out, because there was no way she wanted to be caught talking to Jaime Lannister, the assassin of Aerys Targaryen, the former governor of King's Landing and candidate for the presidency of Westeros. He was infamous and had only got out of going down for life through his father's influence in the new regime. Therefore, she would not be caught dead talking to the likes of him, as she was a Gold Cloak.

A Gold Cloak who really, really, _really_ wanted to impress her new boss.

To Brienne, Renly Baratheon had been proof that the gods existed. He was sweet and generous, popular and kind, and incredibly attractive to boot. She almost didn't care that he was gay; even if he had been straight, it wasn't as if he would go out with someone like her anyway. Brienne knew she was only made to love from afar, so she did not torture herself over the fact that Renly was so lovely but so close, so near yet as distant as the moon. As she was an ugly woman, Brienne could just love him and not expect anything in return, perfectly happy to trail him, like a desolate rocky planet orbiting a brilliant star. Knowing what she and he were, Brienne did not allow herself any silly fantasies about her boss, even when he did her the kindness of coming around her house for a cup of tea after work one day. In fact, the only thing that bothered her was that they were interrupted by Jaime as they walked up the garden path.

"Hey, you still haven't paid that damn vet bill yet, wench."

 _Wench?_ she thought angrily. _What right has he got to call me wench?_

"And I'm not going to pay the bill, Kingslayer, so if you don't mind, please leave me alone."

It was that word - _Kingslayer_ \- that eventually got her Sexy Rude Evil Neighbour to shut up, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on Renly. Once they were safely behind her front door, her boss started gossiping.

"You know, the fact he killed Aerys is not even the most scandalous thing about him," said Renly conspiratorially over a cup of tea.

"No?" replied Brienne, intrigued as Pod climbed through the window and made a beeline for her. "What is?"

"He fucks his sister."

Brienne's stomach swooped with horror. "What?!?!"

"I _know,_ " smiled Renly gleefully. "His sister Cersei was married to my brother Robert. They're lucky it didn't come out in the divorce; it was only because Robert was so embarrassed that he agreed to remain quiet."

That evening after Renly had left, Brienne sat on the sofa with Pod on her lap, stroking the little cat while her mind was full of thoughts of his owner.

 _He can't sleep with his sister,_ she told herself. _That's impossible. That's ridiculous. No one could be that wretched, surely?_

She got her answer later that night. Having been woken up by yet another one of his raucous parties, Brienne had stuck her head out her upstairs window in order to shout at the revellers to _shut the hell up_ , when she saw him. His gold hair illuminated by moonlight, Sexy Rude Evil Neighbour was standing in the alleyway that ran between their houses, talking to a woman that looked so much like him it could only be Cersei. Like Sexy Rude Evil Neighbour, she looked sexy and rude and evil too.

"Show me you are sorry," the blonde goddess growled, fixing her twin with an angry look.

"Cers, you know I am... I am _so_ sorry."

"I don't believe you," she snapped back, her eyes like wildfire.

When Jaime responded, his voice sounded almost tender. "Let me show you."

So he had. Jaime Lannister - Kingslayer, Oathbreaker, Man without honour - had taken his sister in the darkened alleyway beside his house up against a wall, while Brienne watched in horror, entirely disgusted by what she saw, yet barely able to tear her eyes way from his beautiful, shadowed form.

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

For a girl who had dreamed of being a Gold Cloak, failing to save one's boss from a drive by shooting and then getting demoted while dealing with the grief was almost too much to bear. Renly deserved so much better and Brienne's superiors evidently agreed. Luckily, she had Pod, who would curl up on her lap as she cried and let her hug him. It was two weeks into her forced sabbatical, gilded with tears, when she noticed the cut on Pod's leg.

"Have you been fighting, Mr Pod?" asked Brienne, running her fingers through Pod's fur. "Because you know wounds like this can get infected if you are not careful."

 _Renly did not have time to get an infection,_ she thought sadly, a lump blooming in her throat. _One minute he was there, and the next he was gone..._

Not wanting to think of her beloved's glassy, staring eyes for a moment longer, Brienne decided the best thing to do was to take Pod to the vets. Unfortunately, as Pod was not _technically_ her pet, she had to go and ask Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Neighbour's permission to do just that.

"Kingslayer, he's got a cut on his leg," Brienne said, holding Pod up for Jaime Lannister to inspect when he opened his front door.

"I noticed, wench," he replied, his tone firm, "it will heal."

"No it won't. He needs to go to the vets."

The Kingslayer rolled his eyes. "Gods, it's just a scratch. I got worse injuries fighting at school."

"He needs to go to the vets," declared Brienne more firmly, "and if you won't take him, I will."

That made the Kingslayer scoff. "Good luck getting him into his crate. Pod won't do that for love nor money... or treats."

"Pfft," laughed Brienne. "Just because he won't do it for you, Kingslayer, it doesn't mean he won't do it for me. Pod actually _likes_ me."

To her surprise, Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Neighbour had outright smirked at her for that suggestion. "Go on then. _You_ get Pod in his travel crate. I bet you can't."

"I bet I _can,_ " laughed Brienne derisively, barging past Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Neighbour in order to prove her goddamn point. If she learnt anything that day, it was that she loved beating Jaime Lannister. It was just so damn satisfying.

Still, she wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

Unfortunately for Brienne, while _she_ loved beating Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Neighbour, Pod the cat was not playing ball, and just sat outside his crate trying his starving kitten routine in an effort to escape getting into the horrible crate of doom.

"Told you," chuckled the Kingslayer when the pair of them had _finally_ persuaded Pod to get inside (mainly by just shoving him). "I think this means you finally have to pay me for that vet bill."

"No I bloody well don't," grumbled Brienne as she got into Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Neighbour's car beside him, trying desperately not to look at him for too long for fear the sexy part of his nickname would blind her.

 _And I don't want him to know I think he's sexy,_ she thought.

Halfway to the vets, the two of them were stuck in traffic. Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Neighbour had decided the best thing to do was to fill the air with noise as he kept asking her stupid, inane questions.

"Why are you so tall?"

"Because I am."

"Where are you from?"

"Tarth."

"Did you eat giant food on Tarth?"

"What do you mean by giant food?"

"What do you mean, _what do you mean by giant food?"_

"I mean, are you asking me did I eat giant food on Tarth, as in the food itself being giant, or did I eat food made for giants on Tarth?"

"The latter."

"Then no, I didn't."

Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Neighbour went to open his mouth once more to continue these irritating probing questions, when Brienne saw something out of the corner of her eye that caught her attention.

"Stop the car!" she ordered the Kingslayer.

"Why?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"Just stop the car!"

Rolling his eyes, the Kingslayer did what she told him, leaving Brienne free to leap out of the car and run towards what was troubling her. Two men were busy smashing the windows of a jewellers, while another was waving a knife in the direction of a terrified looking shop girl. Given the drama of the situation, passers-by were not stopping to intervene, but running away at the speed of light.

Not Brienne Tarth, though. Not Brienne Tarth of the Gold Cloaks.

"Stop right there," she growled, standing up to her full height to appear as terrifying as possible. "All three of you are under arrest." Much to Brienne's chagrin, the three men burst into laughter; raucous, over-the-top belly ache guffaws. She could barely keep her scowl at bay.

"But you're a woman!" one of them laughed, hissing through his teeth.

"Yes, I am," declared Brienne proudly. "And you are all under arrest."

The three criminals all started laughing again at that, but it didn't last for long. Some well-placed punches and a kick in the groin was enough to get their attention, and they well and truly shut up by the time Brienne had managed to persuade the shop girl to get her some rope to tie them all up and march them back to the Kingslayer's car.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" squawked the Kingslayer as Brienne shoved the three men into the backseat next to Pod.

"Arresting them," she answered with a satisfied smile. The expression on the Kingslayer's face was a curious one; impressed, shocked, _awe._ "Before we go to the vets, we'll have to take these three down to the station."

"Okay," mumbled Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Neighbour as Brienne got into the seat beside him. As she did so, she could not help but notice how he repeatedly swallowed, or that a rosy blush had just conquered his cheeks. It felt like a victory.

Looking back, this was perhaps the beginning.

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

When the vet, Doctor Catelyn Stark, put the cone of shame around Pod's neck, the little cat did not look very impressed. Neither did Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Neighbour.

"He won't be able to get out of his cat flap!" whinged Jaime.

"Good," replied Doctor Stark. "Pod needs rest and care, not running around the neighbour killing off the local wildlife."

"I work long hours," said the Kingslayer, the hint of a complaint in his voice. "As you must be aware, my father is a very important politician, and I work on keeping his image... _squeaky clean._ I am needed at all hours, any time of the day..."

"Maybe you need to get a cat sitter then," suggested Doctor Stark. "Pod _cannot_ be running around when he has had stitches."

"I could always cat sit," suggested Brienne. "I mean, I'm on leave from work anyway, and Pod spends a lot of time around mine. Maybe it could work..."

The Kingslayer looked at her, his green eyes bright. To Brienne's surprise, she saw a thousand questions there. _Why are you helping me? Don't you hate me? Are you doing this for Pod or for me?_

"If that works for you Mr Lannister, that sounds like a good plan to me," said Doctor Stark casually, not quite sensing the tension that had now pervaded the room. Brienne just kept looking at the Kingslayer, not sure why this all felt suddenly awkward.

"Okay," said Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Neighbour eventually. "I will let Brienne cat sit Pod."

He had smiled at her then and it had lit up his beautiful face.

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

Under Doctor Stark's instruction, the Kingslayer and Brienne made plans for how to best manage Pod's care. Given the hours that the former worked, it was decided that the little cat would stay at Brienne's house. That way, it would be difficult for him to escape - especially with the collar of shame on - and Brienne had a companion.

As it turned out, Brienne did not just gain one companion, but two.

"Wench, why do you watch so many documentaries? Can't we watch some reality TV instead?"

"Look, if you are going to insist on always coming around here and stealing all my tea, Kingslayer, can you at _least_ wash your mug up afterwards?"

"Don't wear pink, wench, it's not your colour. You should wear blue. You look good in that."

They parried and fought and argued in just the way they had ever since they first met, but Brienne started to sense something softer in his jabs, something gentler in his cutting words. Brienne wondered if he was starting to like her... not in _that_ way of course, but in a friendly way. As if they had a regard for each other that expressed itself not necessarily in words but in small acts of care.

She got her answer on the night of the house raid.

Brienne had been curled up with Pod on the sofa when she had heard the smash coming from the back of the house followed by voices. Before she knew it, the whole place had been swarmed with thugs, tearing the place up in search of anything valuable. Although she was a Gold Cloak, as she had been alone and unprepared, the gang had been able to overpower her and tie her up, while Pod fled with the good sense of a cat who cared very much about his own nine lives.

Considering all the threats the Bloody Mummers had made against her during those few hours, Brienne had trouble remembering that night clearly. Even so, she could conjure up the odd flash in her mind's eye; she remembered their invading hands, their sneers and japes, accusing her of barely being a woman. Yet nothing was inscribed so deeply into her mind as Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Neighbour storming into her house, his eyes wrathful. He defended her with only a word.

_Sapphires._

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

When the Gold Cloaks eventually came to save them, they found Brienne holding Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Neighbour to her chest, cradling his bloody hand in hers. The leader of the Bloody Mummers, the lisping Vargo Hoat, had stuck a knife through the Kingslayer's wrist and all Brienne could do to stop him screaming was hold him close and tell him about all the reasons he had to live.

"Revenge," she murmured close to his ear. "Revenge is as good reason as any."

Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Neighbour had been rushed to hospital, and Brienne found herself at his side, not wanting to leave him. She did not quite know why she did so other than the fact she felt a strange sense of obligation to him. He had come to save her, after all.

"Wench," he begged, "don't leave me."

So she hadn't. Every day she came to visit; she brought him flowers, helped him eat, and told him what was going on at home. He liked to hear about Pod most of all and it almost broke Brienne's heart in two when she realised it was because the little cat was the closest thing that Jaime Lannister had to someone who loved him. It wasn't as if his family ever came to visit.

 _Other than me he has no one,_ she thought sadly. _How disappointing for Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Neighbour to only have me and a small black cat._

Against her better judgement, on most nights, Brienne stayed with the Kingslayer until he fell asleep, dusting his hair out of his green eyes and marvelling at how very graceful he looked. It was as if someone had sculpted him from marble especially for her to enjoy.

 _He's the Kingslayer,_ she reminded herself. _He is not a good person._

Still, she wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

Doctor Qyburn eventually agreed to discharge the Kingslayer on the condition that Brienne go around and visit him daily to check he was alright. Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Neighbour grumbled over this because even though he had lost his hand, he was still _fucking competent,_ thanks very much.

"I know," she said gently, trying to calm him, smoothing her hand across his back. "I'll just be there to help in case you need anything."

Perhaps it was her tone, or even that he looked into her eyes, but eventually he sighed. "Okay, wench. Okay."

That was how Brienne ended up spending most evenings with the Kingslayer and Pod, checking they were both alright. For such a hard man, Brienne found it quite surprising that Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Neighbour liked something as soft as Pod in his life, so she tried to replicate that gentleness every time she helped him.

"Wench, I want a bath and I cannot get in by myself."

"What do you mean?" she stammered, a flush overcoming her cheeks.

"I mean I want a bath and I cannot get in by myself. Would you mind helping me?"

She had said yes, fully intending to close her eyes and block him out, just listening to the sound of rushing water. However, having Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Neighbour naked in her arms as she lowered him into the warm water was too much, and she almost felt herself shiver against his heated skin.

 _He's the Kingslayer,_ she told herself as Pod entered the room, a silent witness to her distress. _He's the Kingslayer and you know you can't..._

"Do you know why I did it?" the Kingslayer asked, interrupting Brienne's heated thoughts with a tone heavy enough to weigh them both down.

"Did what?"

"Killed him. Killed Aerys."

She froze, her arms still around his shoulders. His skin was burning and so was hers in every place they touched; his from the fever, hers from his sheer closeness. It felt as if the ribbon that had been binding them together for so long was being pulled tight, the tension growing, now that they were on the precipice of truth.

"Why?" she asked, her voice barely as croak as she searched out the truth with unsteady questions.

"Wildfire."

In that moment, in that bath, him wet and shaking in her arms, the Kingslayer died and the world was born anew. Jaime Lannister was not the man she thought he was, and it meant that everything had to be reconsidered.

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

For weeks after it happened, all Brienne could see was Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Honest Neighbour naked in the bath, the steam rising around him, his skin flushed, his expression feverish, his words unbelievable. His story had seemed so preposterous, but he spoke with such emotion that it could only be true; Aerys Targaryen _did_ have barrels of wildfire stored around the city, and it had fallen to Jaime Lannister to end things, earning the name _Kingslayer_ in the process.

 _Jaime,_ he had said, _my name is Jaime._

After everything that had happened, she thought it was only right she use his name.

Brienne called him Jaime when she took Pod around for another visit. As the little cat played with a ball of twine, Brienne made Jaime dinner and then cut it up into bitesize chunks for him, so he could eat. In thanks, he put his hand on hers, their fingers entwining. In spite of herself, Brienne smiled. In response, Jaime just squeezed her hand.

Considering what a snarky, teasing, _infuriating_ man it was, it was surprisingly easy to look after Jaime. While Pod the cat curled himself in his lap, Brienne brushed Jaime's hair, knowing that he found it difficult with his left hand. Although Jaime kept saying _thank you,_ Brienne did not feel like she deserved thanks, because his hair was like silk and she loved to touch it.

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

As things were different now he had lost his hand, Jaime had far fewer late night parties at his house. Not only did it mean that Brienne could get to bed at a reasonable hour, it meant that she and Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Honest Neighbour could spend some time together in the evenings. With Pod sat between them on the sofa, they did not touch one another, but they did share pointed glances, and they smiled, laughed, and talked as if they were friends or something more.

 _What a shame that I am Ugly Brienne Tarth,_ she thought, _and he is him. Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Honest Neighbour._

That Jaime Lannister was _him_ became all too apparent one day when Brienne was cleaning her upstairs bathroom, the window wide open. Although it was late afternoon, she heard a drunken, slurring voice from outside, begging. Her curiosity piqued, Brienne looked out of her window and saw Jaime and Cersei in the alleyway below, just as she had the night of the party. Yet, this time, things were markedly different.

"Come _on,_ " purred Cersei, her tone aiming for seductive but missing due to her drunkenness. "It's been months. Months and months and months. It's Joff's wedding this weekend... my baby is flying the nest... and I need some _comfort,_ goddamn you. I need _you,_ my other half... my twin... my soul..."

Once, Jaime would have found that hard to resist, so Brienne watched proudly as he gently removed his sister's hands from his body, gazing at her firmly. "No, Cers," he replied. "It's wrong."

"I do not care," she snapped in response. "Who cares for morality when it is just you and me. You and I are all that matter in this world."

"No, we do not," Jaime replied, almost tenderly. "There are other people too."

If Brienne thought she was part of a story, she may have imagined his eyes flicking up to her window, searching for her. _You matter, Brienne,_ he said without words. _You matter._

The slap sounded so loudly that Brienne almost jumped, but Jaime did not seem shocked that Cersei had just hit him. Instead, he just grasped his sister by the wrist, holding her fast against him. In that moment, Brienne thought Jaime and his sister had never looked more dissimilar.

"No, Cersei. No."

She wished he didn't have to go.

* * *

When the end arrived, as inevitable as waves on a shore, it was not a surprise that Jaime would have to leave. Joffrey Baratheon's grisly death at his wedding was the talk of King's Landing, especially as his mother Cersei was blaming his Uncle Tyrion. Trapped between the two of them, Jaime would no doubt want to try and smooth things over. Yet he could not do that from the safety of his medium sized house in King's Landing; he would have to go back to Casterly Rock and live under the auspices of his tyrant of a father as he attempted to work it all out.

It meant that whatever _this_ was had to end.

Brienne did not expect him to say goodbye. She was, after all, Ugly Brienne Tarth, and he was Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Honest Neighbour, with an emphasis on the _sexy._ Their relationship did not even have a label, so why would he feel obliged to...?

Yet, when the doorbell rang, Brienne knew it could be no one else, so scooped Pod into her arms (who was lounging on her sofa) and went to answer him. Pod was Jaime's cat after all; she would have to give him back.

"Hi," she mumbled when she opened the door, momentarily blinded by Jaime's golden loveliness.

"Hi," he responded, his voice hushed.

After that awkward introduction, a silence passed between them, heavy and laden with things unsaid. Brienne swallowed nervously, then tried to find something to say that would make this all easier. "I hear you are leaving."

"Yes," he replied, dropping his gaze to the ground. "I have to go. My brother... and my sister."

"I am sure she will need back up," Brienne said, trying and failing to keep the sadness out of her tone as she thought of Jaime running away from her and into Cersei's arms.

"Oh no," interjected Jaime, his tone suddenly forthright, "it's not like _that_ between Cersei and I anymore. If anything, I am going to protect Tyrion. My father will do a purposefully poor job of it after all."

"Oh," Brienne replied, happy that Jaime and Cersei were not like _that_ anymore, but unsure what that meant in the greater scheme of things. Feeling hesitant, she decided to let their conversation fall to silence once more. Now that she felt something for him beyond dislike, it seemed strange that the words ran dry, when before they had just talked and talked and talked and...

"I almost forgot," said Jaime gently, an almost imperceptible smile ghosting his lips. "I have a gift for you."

"Do you?" asked Brienne, surprised. She had not realised he could be so generous. "Where is it?"

"You are holding it!" he smiled, his grin suddenly breaking like a new dawn across his face. For all his faults, Brienne honestly thought the sun rose and set with Jaime Lannister.

"But Pod's _your_ cat!" she gasped, looking down at the slightly scruffy moggy.

"Not anymore. He needs a good home, so I am giving him to you."

Brienne wanted to object, wanted to make him see sense, but it was hard when he was looking at her so softly. "I don't need a cat."

"Of course you don't, but you _want_ one," teased Jaime.

"He'll mess up my house," Brienne objected.

"He's tidy!"

"He'll eat all my food."

"He eats all your food anyway," chided Jaime affectionately. "And... I can't take him where I'm going. You'll be keeping him from harm. I trust you to look after him."

Looking down at Pod, Brienne felt a blush bloom in her cheeks. It burned so brightly that she feared she had gone the colour of the setting sun. Given her predicament, it took Brienne some time to lift her eyes up to Jaime once more but, when she did so, she saw no more need for hiding.

"Thank you," she said, her voice catching in her throat.

His eyes seemed to shine as he responded. "No, thank _you._ "

She did not need to ask him what he was thanking her for; what had passed between them over the last few months was too seismic to accurately put into words. It was better unsaid.

"Goodbye Jaime," Brienne whispered, her voice barely audible above the breeze.

He swallowed, his eyes like lanterns in the morning light. "Goodbye Brienne."

And then, without another word, Jaime turned around and walked up her garden path towards the removal van. Once he had safely climbed into the passenger’s seat, Jaime locked his eyes on her and did not stop watching her as the van drove away. Brienne did the same, not wanting to end this weird thing that had been blooming between them, as delicate and fragile as a winter rose. Indeed, she kept her eyes on the van until it was nothing more than a black spot at the end of the street. If she really asked herself why her chest was aching, Brienne had an answer she would not have expected months ago: Jaime Lannister was not the Kingslayer anymore, nor Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Honest Neighbour.

Now, he was Sexy Rude Evil Incestuous Combative Awed Grateful Brave Beautiful Grumpy Honest _Beloved_ Neighbour.

Her wonderful, lovely Jaime.

She wished he didn't have to go.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Please consider leaving comments and kudos, because I love to hear from you <3


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